Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards

Honoring outstanding achievements in sound editing, the 66th Annual Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Awards took place on Sunday, February 17th at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles with over a thousand in attendance. Golden Reels were handed out in 23 categories encompassing feature films, long-form and short-form television, animation, documentaries, games, special venue and other media.

In his opening address, MPSE president, Tom McCarthy, commented, “We are storytellers who serve filmmakers and producers by creating immersive audio experiences that wrap audiences in visual landscapes and dialog-driven stories on screens around the world.” McCarthy also announced the creation of the Entertainment Industry Professional Mentoring Alliance (EIPMA), an organization devoted to nurturing the next generation of diverse filmmakers.

“Sound is important to cinema, it is half of the experience,” said A Quiet Place supervising sound editor, Ethan Van der Ryn, in accepting the Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Effects/Foley for his team that included supervising sound editor, Erik Aadahl, MPSE; sound effects editors, Brandon Jones, Justin M. Davey, MPSE; foley artists, Steve Baine, Peter Persaud; and foley editor, Jonathan Klein.

Left to Right – Actress Kirsten Vangsness, MPSE President Tom McCarthy, Actress Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Actor and Producer Edward James Olmos

Director, screenwriter, producer and Academy Award nominee, Michael Mann, presented the 2019 MPSE Filmmaker Award to director Antoine Fuqua. Joining Mann as honorary presenters were re-recording mixer, Steve Pederson, and supervising sound editor, Mandell Winter. In his introduction of the director’s work, Pederson, who has worked on most of the director’s films since 2001, noted, “We are fortunate to be the sound team for Antoine Fuqua. When we hear that he has another project, we can’t wait to see what story he wants to tell next and look forward to how sound can embellish and elevate that story.”

Filmmaker of the Year Award Recipient Antoine Fuqua

When accepting his award, along with the usual thanks to agents, crews and family, Fuqua took the time to thank the people at the event who planned, prepared and served the food, the “lunch pail people,” who like his own “hard-working” parents and the majority of Americans, rarely receive recognition. Referencing Black History month, the director also acknowledged the people in the civil rights movement, many forgotten in history, who “put their lives on the line every day” to change America. He added, “In my films I try to tell stories with a diverse cast and crew that I believe reflects America.”

The director applauded the efforts of the MPSE to increase diversity and credited the talented, hardworking, and dedicated crews that have helped him achieve success as a director. His crew is like family and communication is easy. He likes to make them a part of his creative process, so they get involved early, reading the scripts before production starts, sharing ideas before the shoot. “They help elevate everything I do,” Fuqua shared. “They love it and we have a good time doing it together. It’s like being a kid again with a bunch of your friends in a sandbox just playing around.”

In talking about the advancements in sound from production mixing to Atmos, Fuqua stated, “It’s an immersive experience now. We can only get better. Eventually people are going to feel like they are really in the movie with what is happening with sound.”

The MPSE Career Achievement Award was presented to supervising sound editor, Stephen H. Flick, by Academy Award-winning supervising sound editor, Ben Wilkins. Forty years of work on more than 150 films was condensed into a 6-minute clip reel, which also exemplified the evolution of sound over almost half a century.

Now teaching at USC, the main advice that Flick imparts to his students is story. “Understand the story, whether your clients tell you or not, you have to understand what they intend. And that’s difficult sometimes.” explained Flick. Preparing to work on a film together, cinematographer Jan de Bont asked the audio expert how he worked. Flick responded, “I just cut what you shoot. It’s that fundamental. Unless I understate what my D.P. and my director and my actors are doing, then I can’t tell their story. I reciprocate. I embrace their work. I contrast with their work. I push them. I assault them.”